Salsipuedes

Coroner's Log

Dear God, I almost don’t know where to begin. After yesterday’s events & a short trek through the desert on my trusty horse (who has no name) we arrived at the entrance to the mine. We entered, exploring the strange recesses of the collapsed cavern. We searched in vain for obvious collapsed passages (& for the critically important explosives cache), but only succeeded in finding some freakishly large & aggressive bats. I covered myself in glory as the vermin fell around me. My compadres helped too.

After hours of searching, we started finding the walls marked with strange runes. Our new friend Yvonne de Borgia was able to translate some of the writings. They revealed strange information about an odd, seemingly Egyptian, snake-cult. The runes also revealed the solution too a dangerous puzzle, an immovable door could only be opened when we turned out our lamps.

The next few moments were pure chaos. The door opened, Vernon McGill rushed through, a thump, a scream, the door closed as we turned our lights on, we shut out our lights, heard scrambling & scraping, Blake (the damn fool) fired a lightning bolt wildly into the chamber, the doors closed & his bolt slammed ineffectually on the other side of the chamber. The doors opened again & we rushed in, an explosion rang through the chamber deafening Blake, Buffalo Soldiers opened a crater intuitively under a mysterious figure who entered from the left.

An interesting figure was trapped in the crater. His disheveled clothes suggested that he had been here for quite a while, & his two Le Mat Revolvers suggested that he was dangerous (& not at all new to the West). This strange character did a lot of complaining in the following few hours while we searched some remaining tunnels. After Buffalo Soldiers played a rather clever audio trick on Blake, we found a fork in the tunnel & explored the eastern shaft. For some time, the shaft continued as usual, but it soon became conspicuously linear…

As we traversed the new, narrow tunnel, we got into marching order with yours truly in the lead. Eventually, we heard some more mechanical clanking (eerily similar to the clockwork spiders we destroyed on our first day in town). We encountered & destroyed two spiders, identifying them as the work of Darius Hellstrom. After more trekking through a continually widening mine shaft, Buffalo Soldiers identified the clankings of a great mechanical device. It was clear in but a moment how truly horrible the machine was.

The monstrosity hulked twice the height of a man & three times as wide. It’s thick plate armor was able to shrug off most damage, & it’s noisy engine & boiler belched black smoke that reeked of souls. I charged the machine as my compadres launched ranged attacks at it. Buffalo threw open great craters beneath it to trip it as it lumbered toward us, spewing bullets. The great kettle struck Blake, temporarily ruining him. Our female companion Yvonne uttered strange syllables, causing shadows to dance across the tunnel & her weapon to glow. Reaching the machine, I deflected it’s flailing, hooked chain with my glittering axes, then struck at it’s weak point, a thin copper plate behind it’s cow-catcher.

After several minutes of give & take with the monstrosity it exploded, critically wounding Buffalo & our new friend, (who called himself Raleigh, presumably a Southerner). I was able to stabilize them, & afterward Raleigh brutally attacked Yvonne (who interestingly had turned into some sort of lizard creature). I wrassled him to the ground & restrained him with the help of my true friends. He was hogtied & gagged while Yvonne told us the story of her people & the Hellstrom machines. Currently he is in our custody & we are on our way to the Libratorium (God knows how long that will last). Clearly, for the sake of the community & for the benefit of Yvonne’s species we must stop the vile machinations of Hellstrom company. In the long term, I hope to reform the practices of the Libratorium & open a practice in Salsipuedes. I can’t truly fulfill my Hippocratic Oath if I spend all of my days with the dead. Irregardless, more exciting updates are sure to follow. I can’t imagine what else God will reveal to me in the next few days, but I pray that I can be of service to all in some way.

Coroner's Log

When I titled the Sawyer Property to Dr. Blake, I got much more than I bargained for. I knew Black was a risky character, a very young man, smart, certainly a skillful practitioner of… to be honest; I’m not sure what he actually does. Regardless, I expected him to set up a simple workshop & laboratory, a small library, and give our orphans a quality education. However, it began to seem to me that his work was bordering on madness! He’s added to the basement laboratory, slapped a weird telescope onto the tower, and constructed that freakish machine (an “android,” says Blake) called R.O.B.I.N. that takes care of the orphans. I have been skeptical for a while of the care the children are actually receiving, and this most recent event has sent my passions aflame!

I arrived at the Libratorium to great my colleague and check on the orphans. The property was in total ferment, with Blake running about like Johnny Reb in a Gettysburg saloon. Inquiring further, I found that two (two!) orphans had gone missing under Blake’s watch! Absurd! I give him orphans to care for, clear responsibility in exchange for some free property, and what happens!? It all goes to Hell! What’s worse, Blake refuses to take any responsibility and claims some supernatural bloodsucker took the children, AND that this same bloodsucker is to blame for a recent horrible murder outside one of the town’s saloons! THIS IS NOTWHAT I WANTED TO HEARFROMBLAKE, NOTTODAY, NOTEVER.

After confronting him about his wasted resources & irresponsibility, he started waving around some moldering old Latin text & shouting about “vam-pyres.” Clearly, the man was unstable and needed to be watched. With that in mind, we ended up wandering about town all day, visiting some rather unsavory establishments, and eventually trying to convince some clergymen to donate holy water. Eventually, after apologizing for Blake’s lies, I was able to procure some liquid from a friendly Catholic priest. As a good and true Methodist Episcopal, I don’t see eye to eye with most Catholics. However, the man seemed to sense my honesty and concern.

Later that night, Blake had us wandering around with a perfume-atomizer full of holy water, spritzing buxom barmaids and prostitutes. He expected one of them to catch fire, none did. We did earn the ire of Yvonne de Borgia however. I like her spunk. She said she would help us with our “vam-pyre” problems if we helped extricate her father from the recently collapsed Berquel Mine. A fair deal struck, we retired to our homes to rest for tomorrow’s journey. Hopefully, some good can come of our most recent adventure. Regardless, I must think of some serious penalty for the lackadaisical Edgar Blake. Doctor, maybe, but certainly NOT the kind that helps people.

From the Desk of Edgar Blake

The revelation to my associates that the attack on the orphanage was not that of a mysterious assailant and that of vampires did not go according to plan. I was met with sudden accusations from both Doc and Buffalo Soldiers that I was the one who had killed the orphans in cold blood. Regardless I started to win the two of them over after showing them one of the original texts used by Roman Catholic inquisitors entitled Vampyr

Interesting side note, while in the Libratorium one of the younger orphans came up to me trying to show me what he called a “stake sharpener” he is one of three orphans that show promise at honing skills that are rather “unusual” but I will follow up on that in a later report.

After going to the funeral home to perform an autopsy on the corpse we had decided that the man who as found naked behind the bar was assailed by either a bar maid or a woman of ill repute, regardless the wounds were caused by vampire. Runs with Buffalo Soldiers suggested going to the local brothel and wasted what amounted to about an hour of hour of our time.

After exiting the brothel and leaving a gratuitous tip (if you know what I mean), I suggested that we go to the nearby catholic church in order to collect some holy water. After failing to convince the priest I was a member of the congregation, Doc instead decided to tell him the truth. Telling the truth in a church was a bold move, can’t say I would have thought of it.

With our fresh holy water we went to the bar intent on using the holy water to find which bar maid was the vampire. Discovering very little except how to anger the security we jumped into a bar fight. Firing my mint weapon into the thugs and Runs with Buffalo Soldiers they instantly ignited and by an act of god Buffalo managed to get out of the way. Doc performed emergency triage on the guards to that we could leave without his moral obligations troubling him.

Before we could leave we were confronted by a woman that claimed that her father was trapped in the ghost rock mines. After asking for our help Buffalo Soldiers immediately jumped at the opportunity to help her and Doc was willing to help as well. I was sheepish at first but gave a reluctant yes when asked to help in the mine. It seems that Doc and Buffalo Soldiers think that the vampires might be in the mine which is a preposterous idea to someone well versed in occult knowledge. Now we all sit in our homes waiting for daybreak to begin our crawl into the depths of the mine.

Professor Flynn Faces Headless Rider

Death Defying Escape from Flaming Aerial Ascender

Flynn’s Museum Arrives in Salsipuedes with Grand Cavalcade

Gentle Reader,

I, Professor Tiberius Flynn, humbly present to you a true and factual account of my recent arrival in the famed mining camp of Salsipuedes, Nevada. On arrival in Salsipuedes, I organized a grand parade to provide the good citizens with a preview of my marvelous collection. The parade was a great success and the town celebrated a spontaneous holiday as the citizenry left their homes and places of business in droves to witness the spectacle.

After the parade arrived at the Grand Assembly Hall, I prepared to ascend to the heavens in a silken bag filled with Hydrogen gas. Unfortunately, nefarious elements were afoot, as a sniper fired upon my flying machine from a nearby grassy knoll. Two large rents were made in the fabric and the buoyant vapors started to escape from their envelope. Before I could direct my assistant Max to repair the damages, a mysterious electric force struck the balloon and the highly inflammable gas ignited resulting in a spectacular blaze. Adroitly escaping from the resultant inferno, I informed the crowd that the Museum would open on the morrow.

Before I could open my collection to public perusal, I had to deal with a malicious rumor the local press had published concerning one of the artifacts. Señor Victor Martinez, a local grocer had the audacity to claim that I did not have the head of Joaquin de Murieta in my possession. Therefore, I sought the assistance of Doc Campbell, the local coroner to examine the head and confirm its authenticity.

That night Doc Campbell, along with his colleagues Edgar Blake and Vernon McGill, came to the museum to examine the head. Knowing of his interest in this matter and wanting to have no blemish on my honor, I consented to Señor Martinez attending as well.

In order to have a better view of the specimen, Doc Campbell opened a window shade permitting moonlight to enter the room. As soon as a moonbeam struck the jar containing Murieta’s head, its eyes opened and it started to declaim in Spanish. Doc Campbell and Señor Martinez conversed with the head which claimed to belong to the deceased bandit. Before much more could be learned from the head, its body rode into the room on a massive ghostly stallion accompanied by a half dozen skeletal minions.

I withstood several of the crazed apparition’s attacks before finally succumbing to its unearthly force. Fortunately, my companions were able to dispatch it and its minions.

Explosives Convoy Bushwhacked

Mr. Io Martin’s wagon train carrying several tons of blasting powder and dynamite for the local mines was waylaid by unknown assailants. Mr. Martin and his assistants and guards were all slain by the despicable attackers. The assailants’ motives are unknown as Mr. Martin’s strong box was left untouched and all of the explosives were ignited in a massive blast heard and felt several miles away. Doc Campbell, Edgar Blake, and Runs with Buffalo Soldiers were the first to arrive on the scene, but were too late to assist the caravan.

The morning after the attack, Campbell, Blake, and Runs with Buffalo Soldiers followed the murderers’ path for several hours. They were assisted by Vernon McGill, a huntsman recently arrived in Salsipuedes, and Laughing Calf, a native priest who had been pursuing the marauders for several days. The posse returned to town without any prisoners or bodies, but assured this reporter that the situation was taken care of and the attackers will not bother anyone again.

Missing Soldiers Return to Duty

Colonel Elwood Friday, commanding officer at Fort 51, announced today that three troopers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment have returned to post after being absent without leave for over two months. The soldiers were escorted back to post by local shaman Laughing Calf. Col. Friday says that no charges will be brought against the men for deserting their post. “Laughing Calf tells me they were sick,” Col. Friday said. “I thank the noble medicine man for his concern with the welfare of my command. I am certain that this action will go a long way to improving relations between the local tribes and government authority.”

Dr. Sawyer Killed by Burglar

This paper has learned further details about the mysterious noises heard from Dr. Cecil Sawyer’s house last night. “Doc” Campbell, recently arrived in our town, went to pay his professional respects to his colleague this morning. Doc Campbell was accompanied by Edgar Blake and Runs with Buffalo Soldiers. Inside the Sawyer house, they found Dr. Sawyer’s mutilated body as well as the remains of Sheriff McLean and two of his deputies. A deranged criminal was engaged in a brutish, drunken revel amidst the carnage he had created.

Campbell, Blake, and Buffalo attempted to apprehend the desperado before he harmed any more innocents. The burglar resisted arrest and was killed in the ensuing fight.

New Coroner Appointed

Mayor H. H. Bancroft appointed Doc Campbell as the new coroner for Nye County. “We are lucky to have Dr. Campbell in town,” Mayor Campbell said. “He is an excellent surgeon and knows a great deal about the latest scientific advances. He will perform his new duties admirably.”

Runaway Train Demolishes Town

The five o’clock train from Elko was travelling at excessive speed when it arrived at the Salsipuedes Depot. Witnesses report the train speeding along at one hundred miles an hour when it leapt past the end of the track and into the Railroad Saloon. The steam driven behemoth tore through two more buildings before finally coming to rest.

There was a loud report from the locomotive’s boiler and the wreckage quickly caught fire. Despite valiant efforts by the Salsipuedes Fire Brigade and hundreds of citizens, the confligration spread over several blocks. Initial estimates are that at least half the buildings in town were destroyed in the holocaust.

The bodies of the engineer and fireman were not recovered and are presumed to have been burned to ashes. The mangled remains of Ezekial Hardy, the conductor, were found in the baggage car. All of the passengers escaped without injury because of the quick actions of Peter Donovan, the breakman on the ill fated train.

Officials of the Denver & Pacific Railroad would not comment on possible causes of this tragic accident.